It's amazing what a woman's body can do when carrying a new life. It's like a vessel for this precious human being to grow and develop into things that will defy all of our expectations. But then, it happens. The birth and all the things that happen after the birth. That beautiful vessel becomes more like a ship that was taken over and destroyed, Captain Jack Sparrow style! And for the most of us, that's exactly how we feel about our bodies after. We think "WHAT THE (BLEEEP) HAPPENED?!
Instead of embracing the awesomeness (yes, it's a word) of what our bodies were created to do, we agonize over everything!
Every little extra pound we haven't lost--even though you can't tell a woman who gained 40lbs and only had an 8 lb baby that those extra 32 pounds are "little".
We have a countdown on the calendar of when we can be cleared to go workout again....6 weeks or 42 days or 1008 hours (in most normal situations). Side note: I was highly "annoyed" at my 6 week check-up when the doctor asked "So, have you worked out yet?" WHAT?! I thought you said I couldn't until I was cleared, have you seen me yet?? Therefore, NO! I have not. I do try to follow the rules when possible (especially if it could cause me to bleed out on the gym floor, how embarrassing!")
We are keenly aware of how other people see us or how we want others to see us. We are not afraid to "stretch" the truth on just how old our "newborn" is in order to make ourselves feel a little bit better to that young 20-something sales lady, as we shop for post-maternity clothes. "Uh, my baby is only a few months old"..when a few, really means 6ish -- (this is based on a real testimonial!)
Those parts of our anatomy that we were so proud of back in our prime, just seem so "sad" now. How do you loose a butt?
And the worst culprit of them all, ladies, we have to STOP comparing ourselves to other women! Sure, there are some of those women who lose the weight rather quickly. It never looked like they had a baby, except for the little spit up stains on their shirt that only another mom could notice...but that's okay if you don't fall into that category. We are all built differently and we will all change differently, no shame in that game.
It's time to embrace our bodies! Embrace the stretch marks, embrace the extra little cushioning (that your baby loves to snuggle up with), embrace your "battle" scars..... you deserve it! Remember...there is some woman out there who can't have a baby who would kill to have your body, the body that experienced what she may never be able too.
(uh....that ending was kind of deep, so I just wanted to add a little extra line of text, ya know, to take the edge off....like a nice glass of Reggae Blush wine).
